i’ve been getting the bug to make my own blank, but i went to the local HD and the eps looks so soft. to all of you who made blanks from eps foam from a hardware store, how are the boards holding up?
mine are holding up fine. granted its not going to last as long as a clark blank probably, but mine are good so far.
the thing with eps is you have to go with a stronger glassing schedule. like 2 6oz on the bottom and 3 on the top.
If you vacuum bag it they should last a really long time. I’m just finishing up one and you definantly can’t press your thumb imprint into it.
the first one i made last summer delamed and bubbled like crazy… it was Home D. foam with 4-1 epoxy 2 layers 6 on bottom 664 on top, painted yellow, not vac bagged or anything fancy… if i did it again i would install a vent… i am in hawaii and the board was left in the sun a time or two… fun while it lasted…
go for it, you won’t be bummed… make your own fins too and do a leash loop… it is really a cool feeling to look at the board and know that you made every part of it… be sure to read the “epoxy construction primer” in the resources, it has some great eps info…
JJP
thanks for the advice everyone. how is shaping the eps different from PU foam? i’m afraid a planer and surform are just going to chew the foam. what did you use for removing large amounts of material (cutting in the rocker, foil, rail bands) and for finer shaping?
Heya; just finished with my first blank. The hotwire is your friend as far as cutting out rocker, deck and outline; managed to get things right the first time around with a good set of rocker and deck templates (one on each side of the 2x8 panel you’ll have after glueing to act as guides for the wire, easily made outta plywood or masonite, taking measurements from your design on the APS3000); did this with a 24" long wire…any longer and you get excess stretching and hot spots. Once you’ve got your deck and bottom curves sussed, grab your outline template and switch to a much shorter hotwire (~4" wire). It’ll help you keep your rails square with the deck.
I did use a planer for the railbands and concaves. Brand new Bosch 1594 with brand new blades…and it still chunked the foam a wee bit, even with being super careful about getting the tool up to speed before applying it to the foam. No problem; you can fill those holes at the same time as you seal the blank (either with spackle of Q-cell filled epoxy), but the ease of measurement that the planer affords insures some degree of symmetry once you’re done…not too many other methods for removing large amounts of material will do this for you. Found that the surform was not my friend and that a good array of sanding blocks was much more helpful…light, long strokes.
I went with the 2# density for ease of workability and cause I a big guy; don’t need no blanks folding in half on me once I’m through. It was available for me at HD in 3" thickness; bought two, glued them and I have a rocker and deck bed now for when I’m ready to try some vacuuming…still though, that availability could just be because I’m in Canada. Would highly recommend a little higher density though; I think that the ease with which you can shape it vs. the 1# is well worth any weight savings.
Scoleo, Where are you located. There’s probably a foam mfg. near you where you could pick up 2# density.
bay area - i’ve been in contact with a few foam insulation suppliers on the peninsula, but haven’t made any moves. any recommendations?
Here’s a post I did a while back on a simple hotwire setup:
http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=150944
Gary
Bob’s Foam Factory in Fremont.
3", 4", 5", 6" thickness in 4’ x 8’ EPS panels.
They can deliver UPS, they’ll rip to 1’ wide sections for free, and think its totally amusing that we make surfboards out of this stuff. a 5" panel is about $50.
you could try an SF foam blank for your first eps party…but it won’t be making your own blank…
based on my first couple of bad hotwire experiences, i would spring for the variarc that Greg L sells right off the bat and wouldn’t mess with car battries or hobby train transformers…
eps is so easy to shape i mainly just use 40 and 60 grit sand paper…
do you mean San Fran Bay area or one of the dozen other “bay areas” in the US???
thanks, benny. is the 5" panel you mention 2#? if you have them rip it in 1 ft lengths do you get 2 blanks?!
jjp - yes, sf bay area
1’ widths will give you 2 sub-8’ blanks already cur to add a stringer.
one more question for ya, benny. in a previous thread you mentioned getting epoxy resin and glass at Tap plastics…can you tell me which resin and which cloth you used? thanks.
Check your PM’s on glass & resin. If you don’t end up at Tap, you can also go to Fiberglass HI in Santa Cruz. Or, if you’re in the East Bay, Svendsen’s Boatworks in Alameda has a relationship with FH and brings up supplies - including blanks if you want them - twice a week. Anything in the FH catalog can be had for the exact same retail price from Svendsen’s.
They (Svendsen’s) also have d-cell in 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", and 1" thick panels. Its more expensive than balsa though. The e cloth there is more expensive than at Tap; the s cloth is less. The Sys 3 epoxy is almost exactly the same price as the Tap Marine Grade Epoxy, and both are just about exactly the same again as Greg’s RR stuff…
Bob’s Foam stock EPS is 1# but they can get 1.5 or 2# if you order it.
Fiberglass Santa Cruz (831-475-5937) has Resin Research epoxies as well. There should be a number of foam distributors in your area. Insulfoam has a place up by Sacramento. www.insulfoam.com. I’m sure they also have distribution in your area. Falcon foam as well. www.falconfoam.com. There are better places to buy than HD. They aren’t really known for their expertise in board building materials.
thanks, greg. i didn’t know i could get your stuff locally–i always like supporting a swaylockian. i’ll check into the foam distributors.
as an aside, when i was in sc last weekend i asked a local glasser if he would glass an eps blank and he said he didn’t work with epoxy. any reason whey people are hesitant to use it?
change is scary
I’m afraid Rick has the correct answer there. But this is changing. I guess some will never though. Stretch laminates epoxy in SC. 831-479-7309.